Archive | August 2021

Rock Paper Scissors by Alice Feeney

Aug17

Totally Absorbing

Rock Paper Scissors by Alice Feeney is a gripping contemporary psychological thriller that captured my imagination from the start.

The snowy, cold setting in a converted chapel in Scotland mirrors the tone of the novel. It is told from alternating points of view as the reader tries to work out who is the silent figure who is coming and going.

Everyone has dreams but sometimes our dreams can morph into nightmares.

The reader becomes absorbed in the action. All is not quite as clear cut as we first believe. Alice Feeney manipulates the reader’s emotional responses. There were times when my jaw literally dropped. As a pet lover I also had an emotional connection to the dog who has unconditional love for his owners. “Dogs don’t hold grudges or know how to hate.”

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The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman

Aug16

Delightfully Amusing

The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman is a delightfully amusing contemporary novel set in a retirement village.

The lead characters are four octogenarians who meet on Thursdays to discuss cold cases. Their raison d’etre is heightened when murders – old and new – land in their vicinity. They reckon the police could do with a helping hand!

I loved the banter and the friendship. This is not a gruesome read, more like an afternoon drama. I found it reminiscent of Miss Marple and Midsomer Murders.

Richard Osman has a charming style of writing, with his dry wit and many observations of human nature.

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The Nature Of Small Birds by Susie Finkbeiner

Aug15

Simply Beautiful

The Nature Of Small Birds by Susie Finkbeiner is an absolutely beautiful Christian novel that is written around the true event of Operation Babylift – giving children from Vietnam a new life in America after the war.

The action is set in 1975, 1988 and 2013. The novel focuses on a family. This microcosm would be repeated in homes all over America. The reader sees life through various eyes in one family. It is all very beautifully written. Your heart will break for the orphans and children of war.

The war in Vietnam took many American lives. Those who did return were scarred physically or mentally. The Vietnamese children were scarred too. They saw terrible things no child should ever see and were very traumatized.

The novel is a book of love. We see a family with a huge capacity to love – from four year old Sonny up through the generations. There was one exception – a grandmother who lost her son in the Vietnam war. She laid the sins of the soldiers on the shoulders of a young child and needed time to adapt her views.

God is a God of love. He cares for each and every one of His children. “God is so kind… and He’s always up to something.” Sometimes we cannot see Him working, life seems bleak but God never leaves us. His eye is on the sparrow and His eye is on us.

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Did You Miss Me? by Sophia Money-Coutts

Aug15

Warm And Highly Amusing

Did You Miss Me? By Sophia Money-Coutts is the most delightful contemporary novel looking at first love, friendship and family.

I always love Sophia Money-Coutts novels and thoroughly enjoyed this one. The tone is friendly, down to earth and honest. It is also highly amusing and I did laugh out loud at times.

Families are complicated affairs. We do not choose ours and we do not always get on with all the members.

The leading lady is absolutely charming, realistic and likable. She is easy to empathise with.

The novel explores the lasting effects of our first love – the pain, the tears, the heartache – and the love that never dies.

In contrast we witness marriages that fall apart as the leading lady is a divorce lawyer. It is painful to see the value some put on objects over people.

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